40+ Masonry Tools Used in Masonry Work of Your Home!
Monalisa Patel is a Structural Engineer who has earned her Master’s degree (ME) from the L.J College of Engineering and Technology Ahmadabad in 2018. She is an Engineer (Civil) at SDCPL – Gharpedia. Helping people to solve their queries about construction is her passion. Apart from being blogger, she also participates in structural design at SDCPL. She is reachable on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.
Masonry work dates back to ancient times, so are the masonry tools. According to Prof. ‘M. M. Goyal’ (Author of Construction Handbook for Civil Engineers and Architects), masonry is the proper assemblage of masonry units bonded together with mortar. At the construction site numerous construction tools can be seen, each having specific purpose. We use these tools in the construction process to complete the particular work.
Masonry work requires tools for various purposes, i.e. for handling of mortar, for the dressing of stone, for cutting of bricks to get required shape etc. As it goes with traditions in existence since the days of the Ancient Indian and Egypt, masonry deals with some common elements as crushed stones from the earth and simple metal tools.
These tools are also known by their regional names depending upon local customs of the region for example, spades are known as “phavadas”, mortar pan is known as “ghamela” and so on. 12
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Here we have listed out and classified basic masonry tools based on their application in the construction process.
Common Masonry Tools used in Masonry Construction
01. Trowel
02. Corner trowel
a) Outside Corner Trowel
b) Inside Corner Trowel
03. Setting Out Square or Mason Square
04. Plumb Rule and Bob
05. Spirit Level
06. Line and Pins
07. Water Level
08. Boning rods
09. Spades (Phavadas)
10. Mortar Pan/Ghamela
11. Jointer
Masonry Tools for Stone Masonry
12. Bevel
13. Pick Axe
14. Crow Bar
15. Chisel
16. Wood Handled Chisel
17. Drafting Chisel
18. Tooth Chisel
19. Boaster
20. Spalling Hammer
21. Mash Hammer
22. Mallet (Wooden Hammer)
23. Dummy (Iron Hammer)
24. Scabbling Hammer
25. Waller’s Hammer
26. Club Hammer
27. Pitching Tool
28. Gauge
29. Punch
30. Point
31. Claw tool
32. Nicker (Broad Tool)
33. Jumper
34. Wedge and Feathers
35. Gad
36. Drag
37. Hand Saw
38. Circular Saw
39. Cross-cut-saw
40. Frame Saw
Masonry Tools for Brick Masonry
41. Brick Hammer
42. Lump Hammer and Bolster
43. Double-end Comb Hammer or Skutch
44. Straight Edge
45. Brickwork Gauge Rod
46. Bricklaying Trowel
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Common Masonry Tools used in Masonry Construction
01. Trowel
The basic masonry trowel is made up of stainless steel with a plastic/ wooden handle. The ends of trowel may be bull nosed or pointed. This is used to lift and spread mortar in joints during masonry construction. There are different kinds and sizes of trowels used in masonry work.
02. Corner Trowel
It is one of the common modifications of the basic trowel. It is used for shaping corners of the wall. They are two types of Corner Trowel.
(A) Outside Corner Trowel
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(B) Inside Corner Trowel
03. Setting Out Square or Mason Square
04. Plumb Rule and Bob
This basic masonry tool is used to check the verticality of walls. It consists of a string tied to a weight at bottom called bob and straight wood board with uniform edges called plumb rule. On its center a groove is provided in which plumb bob is placed. When the rule is placed vertically with the wall, the plumb bob must be in the groove line indicating the perfect vertical wall. If the plumb ball does not fall on the groove line, the wall will not be vertical.
05. Spirit Level
It is used to check the horizontality and verticality of the surfaces. Spirit level is made of hard plastic or wood with bubble tube in the middle. The bubble tube is partially filled with alcohol in such a way that, an air bubble is formed in it. The spirit level is placed on surface of masonry wall and bubble is checked. The surface is called leveled when the bubble in the tube settles at middle of tube.
06. Line and Pins
It is used to maintain the alignment of the work-in-progress. Line and pins consist of a string whose ends are connected with two solid metal rods with pin points. It is used to level line and the alignment of brick course while brick laying in brick masonry work.
07. Water Level
It is used to transfer and check level. It is a simple tool to measure the level at two different points. It is a tool that works on the principle that water always seeks its own level. It consists of flexible tube with liquid, and the liquid at both ends will be at the same level whether you’re holding them together or spreading them a hundred feet apart.
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08. Boning rods
They are It is used for levelling from two fixed points in surveying. It consists of an upright pole having a horizontal board at its top, forming a ‘T ‘shaped rod. Boning rods are made in set of three rods, and many consist of three ‘T’ shaped rods, each of equal shape and size, or two rods identical to each other and a third one consisting of longer rod with a movable or detachable ‘T’ piece. The third one is called traveler or traveling rod.
09. Spades (phavadas)
They are used to mix mortar and also used to place cement, mortar, concrete in head pan. Spade is also used to dig the soil for foundation trenches etc. It consists of metal plate at the end of long wooden handle.
10. Mortar Pan / ghamela
Mortar pan is commonly used in construction sites and is made of iron or plastic. It is a vessel made of rigid plastic or steel used to hold or carry sand, cement, mortar and concrete. It is also used to mix mortar and to lift mortar on working site. To use a mortar pan, fill it with a quantity of material i.e. sand, cement, mortar etc. that you are comfortable with carrying.
11. Jointer
A jointer in masonry construction is a tool in the form of a striking iron or a striking tool used to finish the horizontal or the vertical mortar joints. A jointer or brick jointer is a hand tool designed to imprint grooves into recently filled mortar joints at the stage when they are starting to set. Using a brick jointer helps to improve and visual impact and the lifespan of the mortar. Jointer is used to refer to any tool which can shape the mortar between bricks.
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Masonry Tools for Stone Masonry
12. Bevel
13. Pick Axe
14. Crow Bar
15. Chisel
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16. Wood handled chisel
17. Drafting Chisel
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18. Tooth Chisel
Tooth chisel is also used for fine dressing. It is a hand-held tool of metal consisting of a long shaft, with a toothed cutting edge at one end. It is again usually hit with a mallet or metal hammer. The number of teeth on this cutting edge varies, generally between three and five, but a variation with two teeth also exists. The tooth chisel is normally used between roughing-out and finishing, to clear away the rough marks left by the point chisel and prepare the surface for finer work.
19. Boaster
Tooth chisel is also used for fine dressing. It is a hand-held tool of metal consisting of a long shaft, with a toothed cutting edge at one end. It is again usually hit with a mallet or metal hammer. The number of teeth on this cutting edge varies, generally between three and five, but a variation with two teeth also exists. The tooth chisel is normally used between roughing-out and finishing, to clear away the rough marks left by the point chisel and prepare the surface for finer work.
20. Spalling Hammer
21. Mash Hammer
A mash hammer is also known as a stone mason’s hammer. It is used to hit and drive chisel for rough dressing of stone. It is double-sided with two striking faces, most often used in stone masonry work. It should only be used to strike stones, but can also be used for such tasks as chipping away mortar in stone masonry. This hammer consists of a wooden handle to which is attached a heavy head, usually made of metal.
22. Mallet (Wooden Hammer)
23. Dummy (Iron Hammer)
24. Scabbling Hammer
Scabbling also called scappling is the process of reducing stone while dressing of stone. In scabbling dressing, only irregular angels are taken off with a scabbling hammer. Hence scabbling hammer is a tool used to break small projections of stones or removing irregular bushings from the face of stone. It has a large head made of iron and wooden handle.
25. Waller’s Hammer
26. Club Hammer
It is used to strike arrow -headed chisels. It is also useful for light demolition work, driving masonry nails, and for use with a steel chisel when cutting stone. Its weight drives the chisel more deeply into the material being cut than any lighter hammers. It also consists of iron head and wooden handle like other stone masonry tools.
27. Pitching Tool
Pitching tool is a hand driven tool comprising of a long edge with a thick point. The ‘working-edge’ of the pitching tool has a broad flat face that is generally ground to an angle just slightly-off the perpendicular. It is mainly used to make stones of required size. If the carving block of the stone has flat-sawn faces, then this tool can be used to remove a great deal of waste material at the initial stages of carving.
28. Gauge
29. Punch
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30. Point
It is employed for roughly dressing the hard and tough stones. Point is also used for roughing out areas and knocking off high spots in stones. Point tool is used after any initial work with the pitching tool. Both point and punch are used to rough-out the form but the latter tapers to a small cutting edge of stone whereas the former tapers to a single point of the stone.
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31. Claw Tool
It is employed for dressing the surface of stones. This consists of an edge with a number of teeth from 3 mm to 9 mm. Claw tool is used after the coarse carving with the point tool. The claw tool, with its row of pointed teeth, acts like a rake to even out the surface irregularities left by the point. While using this tool, care should be taken to ensure all of the chisel’s teeth are in contact with the stone, in order to prevent breakage.
32. Nicker (Broad tool)
33. Jumper
34. Wedge and Feathers
It is an oldest yet, one of the best tools to split the stone. It is a three-piece set tool. Each set of tool consists of a metal wedge (also called plug), and two shims (also called feathers). The feathers are tapered and curved at the top and wide at the bottom. When the two feathers are arranged on either side of the wedge, the combined width of the set is the same at both ends. They are employed for cutting the stones after they have been bored with a jumper.
35. Gad
36. Drag
It is employed to level a stone surface. It consists of blades set at alternating angles, between 15 and 30 degrees, over the length of a block of wood. The blades are toothed to provide even removal of surface material. Some drags can be fitted with specially shaped blades to follow convex surfaces.
37. Hand Saw
38. Circular Saw
39. Cross-cut-saw
It is used to cut hard stones. It is designed specifically for rough cutting. It has a comparatively thick blade, with large, beveled teeth. Traditional 2-man crosscut saws (felling saws) have a handle on each end and are meant to be used by two people to cut stones.
40. Frame Saw
This is used to cut large blocks of stones. It consists of a comparatively narrow and flexible blade held under tension within a (generally wooden) rectangular frame called sash or gate. The blade is held perpendicular to the plane of the frame, so that the stone passes through the center of the frame.
Masonry Tools for Brick Masonry
41. Brick Hammer
42. Lump Hammer and Bolster
43. Double-end Comb Hammer or Skutch
44. Straight Edge
Straight edge act as extensors to mason’s level. They are used when levels are shorter than the area that needs to be measured or assessed. The middle section of the top of the straight edge should be horizontally parallel to the bottom section. It is used for checking the straightness of brickwork.
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45. Brickwork Gauge Rod
46. Bricklaying Trowel
To sum up, the list of masonry tools is exhaustive. Here we have made an arduous task of listing out the masonry tools and its functions. Proper tools are essential aspect of all constructions, big or small. Though there are a number of tools, most of the masonry tools are the upgraded version of the same old basic tools. Equipping the construction site with the adequate construction tools is essential to achieve good quality timely results. For every construction activity, there is always an optimal combination of tools, equipment and labour. According to ‘IS 1661: 1972’ (Code of Practice for Application of Cement and Cement-Lime Plaster Finishes), all tools shall be cleaned by scraping and washing at the end of each day’s work, or after use with different materials. Metal tools shall be cleaned and greased after each operation. The tools shall be examined and thoroughly cleaned before plastering is commenced. Cleanliness is particularly important with cement plasters, where contamination with set material may seriously affect the performance as well as reduce the effective life of the tools.
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